Health Development Organizations in Africa - Essay Example

The actions carried out by the organization are aimed towards preventative measures and strengthening the healthcare systems. The program has an aggressive approach to fighting the current prevalent diseases in Africa which would be considered an emergency in developed countries. To be more specific, one of the main causes of death in Africa is HIV/AIDS. Approximately 68% of the entire AIDS-infected population in the world resides in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, only 10% of these individuals are offered the appropriate access to anti-retroviral drugs. The African community also has a problem with drug-resistant strains of TB. The main killer of African children is Malaria, whist approximately 5 000 children are living with diarrhoea at any given time. African women are also at risk 1:16 of dying during their pregnancy. Comparing these figures with developed countries shows the urgency of the matter and will help illustrate the approaches taken by AMREF in addressing these problems.

The organization has started awareness campaigns and free testing facilities in an attempt to prevent new infections of HIV and reduce the progression of the disease in individuals who are already infected. Awareness campaigns have also been created among HIV patients about tuberculosis as early intervention prevents further spread. Specifically, the organization educates the community about the main symptoms, stages of the disease and diagnostic procedures. To reduce the occurrence of malaria the organization has donated mosquito nets and repellents and also educated people on the symptoms and signs of malaria. In an attempt to reduce the number of deaths due to delivery and complicated pregnancies, the organization has improved education on maternal health. To prevent the spread of waterborne diseases the organization has improved the level of education on water safety and sanitation.

The above-mentioned approaches may appear as non-emergency actions; however, one must consider that the organization is based in a developing country. Education is the first step in improving health and preventing certain diseases and this aspect of healthcare is not fully developed in these countries. Therefore, the emergency approach would be to increase people’s knowledge as treatment provision alone is insufficient in alleviating the above-mentioned health issues. As mentioned above, the organization is located in Africa and currently operates in 30 countries. These offices have several different functions which include technical support, laboratories, on-ground projects and training. The organization also has supporting offices in Europe and North America, mainly providing financial support for the African branches.

As illustrated above, the main functions of the organization are educating purposes and targeted at developing countries. Therefore, in a usual emergency crisis, the organization will not intervene. If the situation was serious and required the involvement of many healthcare organizations AMREF would be influential in spreading the message across the country. However, other modes of intervention in the United States would also be inhibited by the fact that the organization's offices in Northern America are mainly aimed at providing a supportive function. Therefore, these organizations will not be able to provide on-the-ground assistance such as testing or other required medical services. The organization may bring some of its equipment from its African branches and utilize this in assisting some people requiring aid in America. However, these things are likely to be in abundance in the United States.

The AMER is involved in alleviating health care problems that are prevalent in developing countries. The nature of the problems that are experienced by these countries is different to the conditions that are prevalent in America. The organization mainly educates and promotes the prevention of healthcare issues such as malaria, HIV, death from pregnancies and waterborne diseases that are spread due to poor water sanitation. Currently, it has branches in 30 African countries and aims to continue progressing in its development.